Ladybug was set up in 2003 by Ted and Ayse Dickson, a husband and wife team, to explore the possibilities in home textiles products. In search of home textile product excellence they spent almost a year looking at manufacturers throughout Turkey, Ayse’s native country.
Vigorous quality testing of potential products eliminated several options, as they did not meet the quality necessary for a modern market. They discovered that traditional Turkish towels were hand-loomed on black benches, traditional hand operated machines that were disappearing fast. Modern automatic machines had taken over much of the towel manufacturing. Automated towel manufacturing using machinery is cheaper as it takes less manpower and time, however, it uses much more electricity.
In order to keep time honoured traditions alive, Ted and Ayse decided to purchase some handlooms, refurbish them and to manufacture glorious traditional Turkish towels once again. Some were destined for scrap, to be lost forever, but they were rescued and refurbished by aging master craftsmen. Currently these master weavers are training a new generation to keep the tradition alive.
